So. Halo 2. I'm sure for most of you the name brings back memories of the arbiter, his struggle and betrayal. Or maybe of the flood and how terrifying the big one is (holy shit I was having PTSD war flashbacks of several horror games when I saw that thing). But as I said in my halo anniversary review, I didn't grow up with halo or xbox,so going through now blindly after playing 5 is quite the experience,and I figured I'd give my thoughts on these games here. Enjoy :) So the first halo was great, amazing. Your standard first person shooter with excellent level design, music, and gameplay. It had its flaws, namely in storytelling pacing (IMO) and it's ending, but it made up for it in solid controls and excellent pure testosterone fueled action. Does its sequel surpass it or fall flat? To be quick and to the point, halo 2 is essentially halo CE, but without the bullshit. This game guys, how did I miss out on this. This game has aged so freaking gracefully it hurts, I haven't played a new game in years that kept me this invested,and its ten years old! I was seriously surprised, I expected something to show age but it was perfect. Graphics obviously weren't perfect but that's what the anniversary edition is for lol. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat through every mission, level to level it keeps throwing something new in to make you interested and God it works. I mean for God's sake I knew about halo 3 and the cliffhanger ending still caught me off guard and made me want to start 3 immediately. The gameplay is great, the story is great, the graphics are great if your playing the remake, and they were great originally at the time. Give this one a play, it's one of the best games I've ever played, and you should too. Halo 2 gets a 10/10 in my book